Chapter 19: Rescuing Hyūga Hizashi [Conclusion]
Boom—!
The explosion sent the Hyūga Elder flying. Though he wasn't injured, his face was as dark as the bottom of a scorched pot.
In truth, the blast from the kunai shouldn't have been powerful enough to launch someone like him. But the elder hadn't gone all out—his Rotation had been hastily executed. On top of that, no one had expected Sakura's kunai to explode, catching him completely off guard.
"Grandpa Third, Uncle Hiashi—let's go quickly! We need to check if Uncle Hizashi can still be saved!" Sakura ignored the elder, whose face was now black with fury. She stepped onto her demon blade, rising into the air—at her age, her small legs were just too slow. Flying would be much faster.
Neither Hiruzen nor Hiashi paid the livid elder any attention. Hiashi waved away the other Hyūga who had been drawn by the explosion and immediately led Sakura toward the branch family compound with urgency in his steps.
At the Hyūga household, young Neji stood in a daze, overwhelmed with confusion. He couldn't understand why his father, who had only gone to attend a meeting, had come back… dead. Staring at Hizashi's lifeless body, Neji's heart filled with grief.
"Neji! Where is your father's body?" Hiashi leapt down from the wall. Seeing the bewildered boy in the courtyard made his heart ache even more.
"Lord Hiashi, Father's body is inside the house…" Though young, Neji had already begun to grasp the distinction between the main and branch families. When facing his uncle, he was respectful and composed.
Hiashi didn't pause to respond. His entire focus was on saving Hizashi. It's often said people only realize what they've lost after it's gone. Now, with Hizashi's death, Hiashi's long-suppressed protectiveness toward his brother had fully awakened.
Sakura and Hiruzen dropped in behind him. The pink cloud under Hiruzen's feet made Neji blink in confusion. He stared at the Third Hokage, unable to hide his bewilderment.
"Ahem. Sakura, let's save him quickly," Hiruzen coughed awkwardly, pretending not to notice Neji's gaze. Sure, the pink cloud was… a bit flashy. But flying without having to walk? That was worth the style sacrifice.
"Mm."
Following Hiashi into the house, Sakura finally sighed in relief. They weren't too late—Hizashi's soul hadn't yet fully passed into the afterlife. There was still hope.
"Uncle Hiashi, close the door. I don't want anyone barging in if things get loud," she instructed.
Approaching Hizashi's body, Sakura took a closer look. She had to admit—Hizashi and Hiashi looked incredibly alike. No wonder the elders had thought to have Hizashi impersonate Hiashi and take his place in death.
Neji stood with his mother, watching curiously as Sakura examined the body. He didn't understand why these strangers had come to see his father's corpse.
"Sakura, how is it? Can we still save him?" Hiruzen asked.
"We're lucky," she replied. "His soul hasn't fully crossed over. We can still bring him back."
Sakura took a deep breath. Activating the Time Stone, she first restored Hizashi's body to a perfectly intact state. Only then did she begin the process of retrieving his soul.
"Soul? But Sakura, can't you just rewind time directly?" Hiruzen asked, puzzled. "He's only been dead a short while. If you reverse his time, wouldn't that bring him back?"
They weren't hiding anything—Hiashi was a loyal supporter of the Hokage, and Hizashi's wife and child were trustworthy. More importantly, Hiruzen wanted to use this chance to send a message. If Hiashi had any sense, he'd realize what Sakura's existence meant. And if he aligned his daughter with Sakura, the Hyūga Clan's bond with the Hokage faction would only grow stronger.
"It won't work," Sakura shook her head and explained, "Life isn't just about the body—it's about the soul. Without a soul, the body is just an empty shell. If Uncle Hizashi's soul had already entered the Pure Land, even rewinding his body's time wouldn't bring him back."
As she spoke, Sakura's eyes began to glow orange—first faintly, then more and more intensely, until her irises were completely transformed, no trace of their usual emerald green remaining.
Both Hiruzen and Hiashi instinctively took a step back. The aura emanating from Sakura made their very souls tremble.
"Soul… power… space…" she whispered.
Above Hyūga Hizashi's body, a faint mist—imperceptible to normal eyes—was slowly dissipating. Just as it was about to vanish completely, the power of the Soul Stone wrapped around it, anchoring the wisp of soul energy and forcibly resisting the pull of the Pure Land.
Using the lingering part of Hizashi's soul as a tether to the portion that had already been drawn away, Sakura activated the power of the Space Stone. A dim, gray vortex opened above Hizashi's body—a swirling portal of energy, its boundaries held tightly in check by a soft, blue light.
The portal churned like mist, and from within it, tiny glimmers of light began to spill out—these were fragments of the soul that had already been claimed by the Pure Land.
With a wave of her small hand, Sakura shut the portal. Only the radiant specks of light remained, hovering above Hizashi's lifeless form.
"Come together," Sakura murmured, the orange glow in her eyes deepening—gleaming like twin gemstones filled with swirling light.
The scattered lights began to converge, slowly forming a single, luminous orb. Under Sakura's precise control, the soul orb shot downward, merging straight into Hizashi's body.
"It's time to wake up…"
With a snap of her fingers, a crisp crack echoed through the room. The soul fully fused into Hizashi's body.
Cough, cough…
Under the stunned gazes of Hiashi and the others, Hizashi's chest suddenly heaved. A few seconds passed before he coughed—and then, slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
"You're okay now, Hizashi…" Hiashi choked up and pulled his brother into a tight embrace, tears streaming down his face. Hizashi, still dazed, could only blink in utter confusion.
"…This is… quite the emotional display."
Maybe I've been reading too many BL novels, Sakura thought as she watched Hiashi weep into Hizashi's shoulder. Instead of marveling at the deep bond between brothers, her first instinct was to recall the dramatic plotlines from the boy-love stories she'd read in her past life.